Living again
by Launigsiae
Summary: Ryoma is involved in a traffic accident and is left unable to walk again. This story follows him on his acceptance of the fact that his life will never be the same. He'll have to learn to enjoy life again, no matter how hard it is.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Prince of Tennis', I'm just using it for my entertainment.

I'm sure that this plotline has been used before, but I can't help it, I've been wanting to try for quite awhile.

By the way, my mother language is Spanish, so bare with me if have mistakes.

Warning: It will probably turn out to be a Momo/Ryoma, with some other male/male pairing.

**Chapter one:**

**"Accident"**

"Ochibi!! Let's go to your house!" Eiji said in an apparent cheerful manner, well, it wasn't cheerful at all, he seemed nervous and jumpy; but he had a reason for being this way, ever since he woke up, he had this bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and when he has this sensations, something bad happened, he was never wrong about this hunches; his family always listened to him when he said something felt wrong, he had proved this ability of his a couple of times before.

"But Eiji-sempai! We are going to go eat hamburgers! You know that, we always go after practice" Momo said, and after seeing the kind of desperate face the acrobatic player made he added "you can come if you want to".

"Don't I have any say in the matter?, I'm hungry! Let's go!" with those irritated words, the 'ochibi' of the starters made his way out of the clubhouse.

"Wait, Echizen!, I'm not buying you anything if you don't wait for me!" Momo yelled while he ran after the freshman.

Eiji was feeling kind of anxious, 'What do I do?' ...

"Wait for me! I want to go too!!"

* * *

When Eiji made his way to school that morning, he was worried, the feeling wouldn't go away, but when he looked at the members of his family, he didn't get the pang he usually felt; like when he woke up one morning to the strange feeling that his grandfather was in danger, the feeling wouldn't go away, and some days later his grandfather was diagnosed cancer. His family started believing him since then.

He walked calmly towards the courts, but he felt tense and sweaty. He kept looking around him, trying to identify the reason of his discomfort.

He was so entrapped in his own world that he ran into someone,

"Kikumaru-sempai!! Be careful, you scared me!!"

Eiji looked down in order to apologize to the person he was crushing under his weight, but... when he looked into those cat-like eyes he felt shivers run down his spine, it was Ryoma, he was the one that was making him feel uneasy.

"Kikumaru-sempai?, could you please get up?, you are hurting me..." He said in his usual tone, "Kikumaru-sempai?, Kikumaru-sempai!, stop staring at me!!"

Eiji came out of his stupor when he realized that he had been staring, he stood up quickly and helped Ryoma up, "Gomen!! I wasn't paying attention!..., well, see ya!" he said and he ran the rest of the way to the courts. He rested his back on the wall of the clubhouse and focused on bringing his rapid breathing to normal patterns. 'It's Ryoma!, what do I do?... I'll follow him and make sure he's all right! I'll take him home after school... yeah I'll do that and he'll be fine!'

"Is something wrong Eiji?" he heard a voice calling him, he blinked and focused his eyes on Oishi, "No!" he said a little too quickly, "No, nothing's wrong" _yet_.

* * *

"Kikumaru-sempai, why have you been following me the whole day?" Ryoma asked, right to the point as always. "I've noticed you've been outside my classroom watching me, and in the recess, and in practice... It's annoying!"

Momo turned to look at Eiji too, quite interested. "Yeah, I saw you too, why?"

Eiji felt their stares and fidgeted, "I...I... can't tell you!, I won't do it again!" his cheeks were burning, he couldn't exactly tell him that he was watching him because he had a hunch.

Ryoma didn't push the matter, he didn't really car, he just wanted it to stop; but Momo kept nagging all the time, until Ryoma said "stop it Momo!, you are annoying me!, and if you are going to speak, at least do it when your mouth is empty! It's disgusting!"

Eiji didn't exactly know how things started, but when he realized, they were fighting.

"Disgusting?!, you brat think I'm disgusting?!, let me remind you that I invited you here!, I payed!, so shut the hell up!!" Momo said enraged, "Just because you invited means that you have manners, it's always the same!!"

"Hey, guys, calm down, people are starting to stare!" Eiji tried to reason, but they didn't listen.

"I don't know why do I put up with you! You are rude, mean, you don't respect anybody! You are the one who is annoying!" Momo yelled, Eiji watched from ajar with a scared look on his face, he glanced towards Ryoma and saw the childish shine in his eyes disappear, he didn't know, but he wouldn't see it for a long time...

"Well, if I'm so evil that you can't stand me, why do you talk to me?!" Eiji noticed that Ryoma's eyes were brimming with tears, he saw him grab his backpack and with a crackly voice he added before storming off , "I thought you were my friend"

* * *

Eiji blinked after everything had happened, he felt bad for Momo and Ryoma, because he knew that they didn't mean what they said, they were best friends, ever since Ryoma stepped on Seishun Gakuen (can't remember if that's the name) there was a connection between them, just like he shared one with Oishi. But he couldn't help to fell relieved that nothing more serious had happened, he truly believed that his hunch was about this fight, right?

But the feeling was still there.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that Eiji-sempai, but that Echizen! He's such a brat! And he didn't eat his hamburger!" Momo said still quite angry.

"But Momo! You insulted him!, you practically said you hated him!, you didn't notice, but you really hurt him" Eiji said still quite shaken.

"You are right, It's just that, he made me so angry, I didn't mean to hurt him, he's my best mate, I'll apologize" Momo said while he stood up to throw his things to the trash can.

Eiji heard the siren of an ambulance pass outside the restaurant and felt a shiver run through his body.

"Momo, I'll go with you"

* * *

They started walking in the direction o Ryoma's house, both sumerged on their own thoughts.

When they reached the corner of a certain street they herd lots of noise, and many people were circling a specific area at the end of the street, they saw a police car parked near the area and on the other side of the group of people they could see the upper part of an ambulance.

Eiji heard a woman whisper that someone had been run over, he shivered.

Both of them being curious, got close to the area and managed to get to the front of people, what they saw would be burned on their minds for the rest of their lives,

Ryoma Echizen lay in the middle of the street on a pool of his own blood, his eyes were closed. They could see that one of his arms was in a strange angle, just like one of his legs, he had a huge gash on the side of his head and his bag and cap had been thrown close to him and they were splattered with blood.

The paramedics had already arrived and were working on him, they were trying to get him on a stretcher without moving him too much. One of them was taking his pulse.

"...Pulse very faint!..." they had managed to get him on the stretcher and lifted him into the ambulance, "He's stopped breathing! Let's hurry people" the doors were closed and the ambulance sped off towards the nearest hospital.

The crowd began to disperse, but two boys were standing there in the middle of the street, not quite believing what had happened. Eiji reacted first and he realized that he had been crying the whole time, he turned to his right to see Momo.

"Momo!, let's go ask to which hospital they're taking him!, Momo?, Momo!" he started shaking him, Momo blinked and let out a shaky breath, Eiji realized he was trembling.

* * *

Hope you liked it, Comments? 


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again!

I'm very thankful for your reviews! I wasn't expecting that many!

Some of you don't like the Momo/Ryoma pairing very much, please, send your suggestoins and I'll take them into consideration, note that this doesn't mean that I'll change my mind, I think that Momo would be the only one that fits into the role that I've planned without being too OOC, but send your suggestions. Besides, there's a long way before Ryoma is interested in anyone.

**Chapter two:**

**"Worrying"**

_Ryoma's POV_

'Baka Momo', I thought while I tried to control my haggard breathing, 'I you didn't like me, you didn't have to befriend me... I thought you were my best friend', I felt my eyes water, I don't want anyone to see me like this... I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, can't let my dad see this, he'll only laugh at me, and I hate it.

I don't know why I care so much, I've never been one to worry or get offended easily, I know I'm probably all those things that Momo said, yet, I've never cared; he's not the first one to say it, and certainly not the last, but when Momo said it, it mattered, I cared, and it hurt.

I've heard the saying that 'the truth hurts', now I know it's true.

I've never worried over anything, never cared enough I guess; not even tennis. But tennis is all I have, you could say I like it, and I don't like a lot of things, it's the only thing that bonds me with my dad, I think that if I didn't play it, he wouldn't care about me, and that scares me, more than anything in the world, it might not seem like it, but I love him, I respect him; tennis is something that I share with my friends, with Momo, actually, I met my friends through tennis.

I'm waiting right now at the corner of a noisy street, waiting for the green light to appear thinking about all of this and wonder if I should change, I don't consider myself a bad person, but what about the others?

'_Maybe all I need to do is to believe in myself instead of hiding behind arrogance'_ I think while I step down the sidewalk,

'_No, that's not it, I do believe in myself'_ I reason while I start walking,

'_I need to...' _somehow I feel something wrong, everything's too still, I hear someone scream, and I turn my head. I see, more than hear the screeching of wheels trying to stop, I know the car is heading towards me, but somehow, I can't move; I've heard that when you are about to die, your life passes before your eyes, but all I can see is infinite white, I don't see anything, I can't hear anything...

'_...trust..., yeah, I need that...'_

I feel the car hit me, I thought it would hurt more, or maybe it hurts so much that I can't feel it; I hit the windshield and I flied, I really did and it felt weird, but then I was falling; when I hit the pavement it hurt more than anything I've ever felt before, I felt intense pain shot through my whole body when my back collided, and then nothing.

I feel my eyes dropping and I feel my arm get wet with what I think is blood. I just want to rest, to sleep..., I hear the siren of an ambulance, but I don't care, I just want to close my eyes...

* * *

It was 7:00 pm and he was worried, that brat was taking too damn long to come back from wherever he is, 'Stupid kid, making his mother worry' Echizen Nanjiroh said to himself to calm his nerves; it wasn't working.

'He'll hear me when he arrives', he glanced at the clock on the wall again, 7:03, he was getting very worried, Ryoma was always home at 5:00 or 5:30 to the maximum. His wife was pacing on the living room and his niece was getting ready to go out looking for him, even the stupid cat was restless.

He heard the phone ring and he answered it faster than he ever had before; "Where are you damn kid!?, your mother is..." he was cut off when he heard a sharp cough, "Excuse me, is this the house of Echizen Nanjiroh?" came a very trained and flat voice, Nanjiroh had a very bad feeling about this, "Yes, he's speaking..." he held his breath, "I call from Tokyo Central Hospital (I invented it) to inform you that your son, Echizen Ryoma has suffered an accident, ..." he grabbed the table to stop himself from falling, he felt weak, "This afternoon he was brought in a very critic state, he had been run over by a car..." he forced himself to listen, even when his stomach was doing turns inside him, "Here are two kids that came after him, they gave us your number-", "How is he?" he asked more forcefully than he intended, his wife turned to look sharply at him after hearing him so tense,

"He is in surgery as we speak..." his knuckles turned white, "-I'm going to be very honest Mr. Echizen, he was in a very bad shape when the ambulance brought him in, I advise you to come quickly to the ER section, we fear he might not make it through the night."

Nanjiroh let the phone slip to the floor without realizing, he felt shaky and his hands were clammy. He felt his wife calling him and he returned to reality, his niece was looking at him too. He grabbed Rinko by the shoulders and looked at her in the eyes "We have to go to the hospital, that was a doctor calling to inform that Ryoma was in an accident – his voice wavered – he's in a very bad shape..."

He saw how a tear made a way down her cheek and he hugged her, she started sobbing; he glanced up and saw that his niece had covered her mouth and had sank to the floor; he felt like doing the same.

* * *

Leave reviews!! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hi again!!

Thank you so much for the reviews!

I want to thank my beta-reader Sheik's Lonely for being so patient with my mistakes!!

**Chapter 3:**

"**Waiting"**

_Momo's pov----_

I look around me and I don't really know how I got here; everything happened so fast that all my memories are foggy. One moment I was walking with Eiji-senpai to go to Ryoma's house, and the next... the next, here I was, sitting nervously in the waiting room of a hospital, waiting for someone to tell us something about Ryoma, waiting for someone to tell us anything.

After the ambulance had sped off towards the hospital, Eiji-senpai and I had asked the police officers nearby to tell us which hospital they had taken him to. They were reluctant to give us information, but when they saw how worried we were, they conceded. Actually, they brought us here.

When we arrived, a rather apathetic nurse came to see us. She asked for our names and told us to remain seated. Both Eiji-senpai and I were shaky and scared, and I think we still are. At least, I know I still am.

I'm sure that I'll never forget what Ryoma looked like, all broken, lying in the street... At that moment, I couldn't help but think of him as a child even when I'm only a year older than him. He looked so frail... But I guess we all are because, after all, it doesn't matter what you do or what you look like, we are all humans.

A doctor came out from behind the doors where we knew they had taken Ryoma. He looked around for a moment and he noticed that we had sprung to our feet when he had appeared.

"How is he?" I asked a little too forcefully.

"Good afternoon, I am Dr. Shibahime," He said instead of answering my question, "A nurse has told me that you came after the boy involved in the traffic accident—"

"Tell us, how is—?" Eiji-senpai tried to interrupt, but he kept talking in a perfectly flat tone. I hated him for that.

"I can see that you are wearing the same uniform as the boy. He isn't carrying an ID—"

I couldn't stand it anymore, I grabbed a fistful of his clothes and shook him, _'Why do I feel so insignificant? So helpless?'_

"Can we see him? Is he okay?!"

The doctor cleared his throat and tried to pull his clothes out of my grasp. "If you could please let go of me now sir, I'll tell you that all I can really say is that it's confidential information that I can only share with his parents. However, there is something you can help me with," He extended his hand towards me and gave me a piece of paper, "I would really appreciate it if you could write here his name and his phone number so I can contact his parents."

I looked at the paper resting in my hand and I slowly wrote what was asked of me. I already knew Ryoma's number by heart. I handed it to him and he gave us a small smile. I couldn't tell if it was polite or pitying. He put his hand on Eiji-senpai's shoulder, as if to encourage him, and then he left, left us to wait once more.

I glanced beside me and noticed that Eiji-senpai needed comfort that I couldn't give, comfort that I myself needed. Without telling him anything, I handed my phone to him. He sent me a broken smile and dialed Oishi-senpai's number. When the other answered, Eiji-senpai started sobbing. I tried to block out as much of their conversation as I could; I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that my best friend was hurt.

I couldn't help but feel guilty for telling him all those things back there when we had been eating hamburgers. I can't even remember why we were fighting anymore... I don't want those words to be the last ones I say to him if he dies... _'No! He's going to be fine! We'll go out once more and play street tennis again! He's NOT going to die!'_

So, here I am, staring at the ceiling, worrying, waiting... Waiting for my friend. That's all I can do. It's moments like this when you realize how small you are.

_End Momo's pov----_

* * *

"Oishiii!" Eiji yelled while he threw himself into his doubles partner's arms, "Oishi!! Ochibi! Ochibi! There was so much blood!! I—I— Oishi! He's going to be all right, isn't he? Isn't he?" 

"Calm down Eiji, he'll be all right. Don't worry, okay?" Oishi said, trying to calm him down.

"That's right, Echizen wouldn't want us to worry" Added Fuji, who had also come.

One by one, all the regulars of Seishun Gakuen arrived to the waiting room in the ER. They were all worried after their sub-captain had alerted them of Ryoma's accident.

They all sat there looking for any sign of movement from behind the closed doors, but there was nothing yet.

They glanced up when three new people arrived. Well, they knew one of them, and that was Ryoma's father, the weird man who always dressed as a monk and made Ryoma angry all the time. They guessed that the other two were his mother and his cousin.

The new arrivals didn't even look at them; they headed straight to the nurse station. After some time they returned and sat down next to them.

"Good afternoon, Echizen-san." Seigaku's tensai, who was the closest to them, acknowledged.

"Hello. All you kids are with Ryoma at school?" Mr. Echizen asked, giving them a halfhearted smile. They could see that he was dead worried about his son.

They all nodded in response. Ryoma's mother and cousin bowed in greeting.

The room was left in an uncomfortable silence. One could feel the tension on the air.

* * *

Nanjiroh's pov----- 

I glance at the kids sitting close to me and I can tell they're worried. They probably think the same about me and my family. But right now I don't care. All I want is for those damn doctors to tell me what's wrong with my kid. All I want is for Ryoma to be home, like he always is, angry at me...angry, but healthy. All I want is for my son to be healthy.

When the doctor called, I hadn't been expecting it. I mean, these things don't happen in real life. My son can't be... dying; he's only twelve for god's sake! He's got so much to live for! He's MY reason to live for!

I feel pain and I look at my right hand and notice that I had been clenching my fist too hard. My nails had bruised my skin. But that felt much better than this anxiousness.

The nurse told us that he was still in surgery and that the doctor would come out any moment... I wanted to know what's wrong now!

I feel my hand being grasped. It's Rinko, and she's looking at me with those big, lovely eyes she has. But they're sad and worried...just like mine…

I kiss her forehead softly, trying to ease her; it's been a long time since we last touched. Things haven't gone well in our marriage these past years and it's nice to be able to understand each other without words. I just wish that it had been in a different situation, not in a hospital, waiting to know if our son will live to see tomorrow.

I'm staring into space when I notice that the kids have stood up. I glance up and see the thick doors opening and someone comes out. From the reaction of Ryoma's friends, I can tell he's Ryoma's doctor; he's dressed like he's just come out from the operating room, in those funny blue things only doctors wear. I rise to my feet and help my wife get up. We rapidly approach the doctor so he can tell us news about Ryoma. He notices us and promptly ignores the angry shouts from the kid who always takes Ryoma to school in the morning.

"Are you the parents of Echizen Ryoma?"

"Yes. Please, tell us, how is he?" My wife manages to cry out. She hasn't let go of my hand.

"Good evening, I am Dr. Shibahime, I'm Ryoma's doctor and I need to speak to you in private. After that, you can see Ryoma. He's being taken to his room right now." He adds in a clear voice that tries to sound detached. I wonder if all doctors manage to lose their humanity.

He turns to look at Ryoma's classmates, "You can go ahead to the third floor. Ryoma will be there, but I can't promise you'll see him though." All of them nod and go to find the nearest elevator. Nanako goes with them.

"Follow me please."

* * *

He takes us to his office and tells us to sit down. I'm too fidgety to sit, but I still do it nonetheless. He leans over his desk and crosses his arms in front of him. I'm getting more nervous.

"We managed to get Ryoma out of danger—" I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding and my wife smiles, her grip on my hand loosening a little, "—but he was brought here in a very bad shape. The paramedics informed me that, somewhere along the way here, he had stopped breathing. They managed to resurrect him and brought him just in time."

"We had to operate on him because he was internally bleeding. He also had four broken ribs, and one of them almost punctured his left lung. His right wrist was broken too, just like his left leg. However, there's something I wanted to show you..."

I didn't like where this was going...so many injuries, what else did he want to tell us? He stood up and turned on the light of a machine and he put a radiography on it.

"This is the radiography of a healthy spinal column—" I couldn't see how this was relevant; what did this have to do with Ryoma? "—inside it resides the spinal cord. This cord sends orders to limbs and, in short, controls the body along with the brain."

He took another radiography and put it beside the other one. There was something different about this one; just below the middle of it, it was blurry and even I could tell that the shape was different. It was crooked.

"This one is Ryoma's spinal column. As you can see, he suffered a severe injure in the thoracic level—" He pointed to the area that I had been looking before, "—to be more precise, he injured the vertebras T-11 and T-12. I'm very sorry to tell you, but this also affected his spinal cord. This injury has caused him paraplegia. There's nothing we can do about it"

"What are you talking about? He'll get better right? What do we have to do?" I blurted out, losing my patience. I looked at Rinko and she seemed to be waiting for the doctor's words as if they were her lifeline. Dr. Shibahime directed his sight to the floor, as if he wasn't used to being in this kind of situation. I didn't like it.

"I don't think you understand the seriousness of this, Mr. Echizen. Beneath those particular vertebras lie the part of the spinal cord that control the legs. Paraplegia is a condition in which the lower part of a person's body is paralyzed and cannot willfully function. I'm deeply sorry to say this, but your son…he won't be able to walk again."

My stomach drops and I don't really know how to react. I steady myself with the chair, '_This can't be happening, not to my Ryoma.'_ My wife buries herself in my chest while she sobs uncontrollably. I feel so... sad. There aren't really any words to describe what I'm feeling. I just feel empty. 'What's a parent supposed to do at a time like this?' I wonder as I suddenly feel a tear slide down my cheek.

* * *

AN: I hope you understood all about the injury, if I got anything wrong, please tell me about it 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

**"Friendship"**

_Nanjiroh's pov---_

I feel like crying.

I feel like crying again; I can't help it. Every time that I look at my son, my eyes swell with tears. But I can't let him see me like this. I have to be strong. I have to be strong _for him_.

I still can't quite believe what the doctor told us. I want it to be wrong. I want the doctor to come back into the room and to tell us that he showed us someone else's radiography.

After he explained all of his injuries, he told us that Ryoma had fallen in a slight coma. Apparently the severe traumas he suffered caused him to fall into the coma. _'Nothing to worry about,'_ He said. It's not his son who's lying in a bed! _'He'll probably wake up tomorrow, in the afternoon,'_ I hope he does... If he doesn't, I don't know what I'll do.

I turn to my right and watch Rinko sleep on the uncomfortable sofa of the room. Her cheeks are still streaked with tears and she's clutching the blanket that covers her. It's been more then five hours since we arrived to the hospital and I'm already sick of it. I hear my watch make a sound and I notice that it's one o'clock of the morning; Ryoma hasn't woken up yet.

I sent Ryoma's friends home. They didn't want to go, but their parents must have been worried, and I don't want anyone to experience that feeling the way I have, the way I _still am_.

They know that he is in a slight coma, but I think no one's told them about the paraplegia. I gave the doctor permission to tell them because I think that Ryoma would want them to know, even if he denies it at the beginning and gets angry with me when he wakes up. I thought about telling them myself, but I didn't know how. I don't know how I'm going to say it to my own son. _How am I going to say to my son that he can't walk again?!_ _That he can't run again? That he can't play tennis anymore?! _I know he doesn't say it, but he likes tennis more than anything else; _what am I going to do?_

I don't want a good-for-nothing doctor to tell him this. He's just a child. Even though he acts all cocky and sure of himself, he is just a child. However, I'm not sure that I'm strong enough to break the news to him. I don't know what to say or how to act... Parents aren't supposed to tell things like this to their children.

I release a shuddering breath and I run my hand through my hair. I notice that I didn't even comb my hair on my way out. I didn't shave, but I actually I don't even do it regularly and Ryoma hates that; he's told me before. He's embarrassed of me, I think. He doesn't want to be seen with me most of the time. He takes after Rinko on that part; he always dresses nicely and makes sure that he looks perfect before going out. He thinks that no one notices, but I do. I'm glad he's that way.

Maybe I'll start dressing nicer, for him. I can't keep being immature forever; Ryoma is going to need his parents and his friends. He's going to need a lot of support to steady himself again. I'm aware of that, and I won't leave him alone.

I won't forget the first glance that I took at him when we were allowed to see him. I remember thinking that he seemed to be asleep. But then again, Ryoma never sleeps that way; he's messy, like me, and he always has his covers all over the floor while he rests on his belly. Sometimes Rinko gets up in the middle of the night to cover him.

This time, however, he is lying still...too still. His bed is raised in one part to accommodate him better and he's covered up to his waist. He has an IV started, one of those weird machines attached to his index finger that allows us to hear the rhythm of his heartbeats, and he's also wearing a breathing mask. Rinko hurried to his side and took his left hand, the right one was in a cast, and started crying again.

The only time that he had been in a hospital was when he was born. I still remember that day; he was all red and fussy with his cone-shaped head covered with a thin layer of hair, but he was the most beautiful baby in the whole world. At least, that's what he looked like to me. The moment I held him for the first time was the most significant moment of my life. That precious instant, in which his cat-like eyes focused on mine, was the happiest moment of my life.

After that day, I couldn't recall a single thing that filled me up as he did. That little baby was part of me and I knew that he had great things in stored for him; that strong stare couldn't be there for nothing.

I clenched my fist in front of me and I directed my sight to his still form lying on the bed. _'He still has many things to prove, great things to do,' _I thought as I sat on the edge of the bed and rested my palm against his cheek, '_I'll make sure you meet them, Ryoma, I'll always be beside you'_

_end of Nanjiroh's pov---_

* * *

A couple of hours later, a group of boys were getting changed inside the clubroom of Seishun Gakuen; everything seemed normal. Except it wasn't. 

Everything was too quiet; there was a heavy feeling surrounding the regulars of the tennis club. They were missing one of their own. They felt...incomplete.

_Flashback_

_All of them, along with Ryoma's cousin, were waiting outside room 601. The head nurse had told them that that would be Ryoma's room but he wasn't there. Eiji had opened the door and the bed had been empty. They stood outside, waiting for someone to bring him. _

_Suddenly, they heard the doors of the elevator opening and a doctor came out from it. Behind him, two male nurses were rolling a stretcher and one of them was also carrying a bag over his head that contained clear liquid. All of them noticed that they were coming in their direction._

_Fuji approached them while the others remained where they were. When he took a glance towards the figure lying on the stretcher, he opened his eyes and drew a sharp breath; it was Ryoma. _

_When the little group reached the room, they all had the opportunity to see him. They noticed that the bag of liquid was attached to Ryoma's arm by a needle and that the other nurse was holding a breathing mask to his mouth and nose. He was very pale and he looked thinner and worn out. His eyes were closed._

_The doctor didn't say anything to them and they all remained silent, too shocked to do anything but stare. He opened the door and stepped inside, the nurses, along with Ryoma, following him. They all looked at each other and nodded and, as one, they went through the door._

_They watched as the first nurse put the bag in a stand and lower the bars of the bed..._

'_Why is there no noise?' 'Why is this happening?' '...Why...?'_

_The doctor started a breathing machine and changed Ryoma's current mask for the new one with extreme care. He then gave a sign to the second nurse, who took their friend's small body into his arms and lowered him onto the bed. _

_The nurses stepped out of the room and the doctor attached something to Ryoma's index finger. He turned on another machine and immediately they all could hear Ryoma's heartbeats._

_At last, he turned to look at them and he gave them a kind smile, "Your friend Ryoma-kun here is very brave and very strong. He fought very well today and so he's here, breathing with us." He turned back around and covered Ryoma with a thin sheet._

"_He is in a very light coma and he will probably wake up tomorrow;" He looked at them in the eyes and touched Kaidoh's arm in reassurance, "Now it's your turn to be strong and be there for him. He'll need you"_

_With those words, he left the room._

* * *

_Some time later they saw Ryoma's parents open the door and, at Tezuka's sign, they stood up and left the room. It was right to leave them alone. His mother seemed very tense and she appeared to have been crying. His father looked very serious and stiff. Somehow, that didn't comfort them. They didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts as the first doctor they had seen when they had come to the hospital approached them. _

"_Hello. I don't remember if I have introduced myself before but I'm Doctor Shibahime. I'm Ryoma-kun's doctor" He greeted in a professional voice,_

"_Please, follow me. I want to speak with you"_

* * *

_He led them to an empty room and sat on the bed. He waited for them to enter and gestured for Inui to close the door. Once they were all inside, he sighed and directed his stare towards them. He gave them a pained smile and lowered his head. When he raised his head, he seemed to be collected again._

"_Ryoma-kun's father, Echizen-san, told me to inform you of Ryoma's injuries. I have to tell you that he is in a very bad shape. We had to operate him because he was internally bleeding, he had four broken ribs, and his right wrist was broken, just as his left leg was. But that's not all..." The doctor paused for a few moments, seeming to try and collect himself, "Oh my...this is harder than I thought." He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes._

_Inui was furiously scribbling notes, the scratching noises of the pen against the paper filling the small room. They all had serious expressions on their faces._

"_Ryoma-kun suffered a severe injury to his spinal column and his spinal cord was also affected. This is in his back," He quickly added after seeing Taka's confused face. He then directed his sight towards Momo's backpack and took a deep breath._

"_I understand that all of you play tennis?"_

"_Yes, we're the regulars of Seishun Gakuen. Echizen is one of us." Tezuka answered._

"_You see, Ryoma-kun...I mean, your friend, he won't be able to play anymore."_

_That single phrase got everyone's attention; all of them looked up and started asking for explanations and Inui even stopped writing. _

"_Ryoma-kun injured his back in the accident. I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do about it, and this injury has caused him paraplegia—"_

_He was cut off when all of them jumped at the sound of Inui's notebook falling to the floor, the sound of the pen rolling kept going until it reached the edge of the bed. "Paraplegia…you mean..." Inui began with wide eyes, "That can't be..."_

"_What's that nyah?" Eiji asked Fuji with a scared look on his face. Fuji ignored him and opened his eyes to look at the doctor with great intensity. Tezuka had his eyes wide open as well, with a quite disbelieving look on his face._

"_What's the matter?" Momo asked._

"_Paraplegia," The doctor continued, "Is a condition in which the lower part of a person's body is paralyzed. In this case, it's Ryoma-kun's legs and he won't be able to move them. I'm sorry."_

"_You're lying!!" Momo yelled, "That's not true!!" He lunged at the doctor, but Kaidoh was fast enough to hold him back, even though he had the same expression as his rival. "You're lying!!! Let me go mamushi!! Let me go!! That's not true!!" He started thrashing his arms and legs, but the other didn't let go. In a strange act of friendship from his part, Kaidoh hugged him instead._

"_I'm deeply sorry to tell you this and there wasn't anything we could do. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."_

"_Let me go! Please, let me go!" Momo had stopped thrashing and was now half-heartedly hitting Kaidoh's back, "It's not true! It's my fault! I shouldn't have yelled!" He started sobbing, "Eiji-senpai! I didn't mean it! I didn't want for any of this to happen! I swear! It's my fault! We were on our way for me to apologize!" He leaned into the hug and started sobbing harder; he didn't care that it was his 'enemy'. Kaidoh, still shaken himself, patted his back and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall._

_Oishi was holding Eiji who was crying openly. Fuji and Taka were looking at Momo with glistening eyes. Inui was staring at the floor and Tezuka had his hand covering his mouth, his eyes still wide open._

_The doctor felt bad for seeing them like this, but it was his job. He hated giving bad news. 'Why do these things have to happen? To someone so young...'_

_All of them glanced up when the doctor started talking again. "Ryoma-kun is going to need his friends, so please, be strong. He's going to have to come to terms with this and it's not easy; he won't be able to do it alone. Please, be there for him, and I promise that everything will be all right" He gave them a smile and stepped out of the room, leaving eight boys to ponder on his words..._

_End flashback_

* * *

While they were running, all the regulars were thinking the same thing, thinking about Ryoma and about in how little time lives can be changed and about how we take everything for granted when, the next moment, it may not be there. They had all agreed to go to the hospital after school. Ryoma would probably wake up that day and they wanted to be there for him, 

When the practice was over and they were preparing to go to class, Fuji said quietly, with unshed tears in his eyes, "It hurt to see him like that, didn't it? I guess we're not just team mates, right? There's something else that keeps us together…right?"

"Yes. It's friendship."

* * *

Leave reviews! I hope you all liked it! I almost cried while I was writing it ... 


	5. Chapter 5

Hi again! Thanks for all the reviews and kind words! Sorry for the long wait.

I want to say thanks to Sheik's Lonely for giving me support and checking my mistekes; you are right, English is weird :)

**Chapter 5:**

**"Waking"**

_Ryoma's pov –--_

'_Where am I?'_

I can feel someone shifting beside me.

'_What happened?'_

"Ryoma, baby, please, open your eyes for me."

'_Who is it?'_

Someone is holding my hand.

'_It's warm...'_

"Ryoma, open your eyes, please, I beg you!"

'_Mom, is that you?'_

I try, but... I can't. I feel like my eyelids are too heavy. Why do I have to wake up? I don't have to go to school; it's Sunday, right...?

Something is covering my mouth; I don't have the strength to lift my arm and move it. I'm so tired that I can't move at all.

'_I don't want to...'_

_end Ryoma's pov----_

* * *

_Fuji's pov---_

We've been here for an hour and Ryoma still hasn't woken up from his coma. Ryoma's parents went home to bring some things and they trusted us to take care of him while they were gone. We all decided to come right after school and we even brought him a balloon.

I'm worried about him, but then I look around me and notice that I'm not the only one.

Momo is sitting on the floor, watching Ryoma's chest rise and fall with every breath he takes. He's staring so hard at him as though he believes that, if he concentrates hard enough, Ryoma will wake up. Eiji is whimpering and whining every time he raises his head to look at Ryoma. The rest of the time he's watching his trembling hands. Inui doesn't have a notebook with him; I think that he didn't pick it up yesterday. He's spaced out and he's looking out the window now.

I had never realized how similar Oishi and Taka-san were until this day; they both are sitting in the chairs next to the bed, both watching Ryoma's face anxiously, waiting for any change. Kaidoh is leaning on the wall, staring at the floor and hitting his legs lightly. He really is a nice guy. Tezuka, our captain, is in the corner of the room with his arms crossed and wearing the same expression he always does, but the way his hands are tightly gripping the upper part of his arms betrays his worry.

As for me, here I am, sitting on the sofa, rubbing Eiji's back as he sits next to me looking for comfort. I try to concentrate on the sounds of Ryoma's heartbeats,

I try to concentrate on that steady rhythm to forget the fact that, for the first time, I don't feel like smiling.

_end Fuji's pov---_

* * *

"...mm...argh..."

"He's waking up!"

There were eight boys surrounding a bed, waiting for the occupant to finally open his eyes.

The small boy's eyelids trembled, and the next moment they finally opened to reveal a pair of disoriented brown eyes.

"Ryoma! You're awake!"

"We've been so worried!"

"We're so glad Echizen!"

Ryoma lifted his left arm and weakly poked his breathing mask, as if he didn't know what it was. It seemed to bother him.

"...what...?"

Suddenly he found himself wrapped in the arms of a very happy Kikumaru.

_Ryoma's pov---_

"Ochibi! You're awake! Don't ever do something like that again!"

"...do...what...is going...on...?"

'_What is going on?'_

There's something covering my mouth. I try to take it off, but then I notice that my right arm is in a cast. My ribs hurt when Kikumaru-senpai hugs me. Somehow, I feel that something's wrong... My head hurts...

'_...don't ever do something like that again!...'_

All at once, I start to remember what happened. The images come like flashes to my mind. The car speeding towards me, someone screaming, the pain...

My hands start shaking; I can't stop them. I can't breath. I try to claw the mask away, but I can't. I'm hyperventilating. I feel panic. I can't stop... I want to stop! My body won't obey me.

"Ochibi!"

"Someone call a doctor!"

I watch from the corner of my eye as Kaidoh-senpai runs out the door. I manage to lower the mask a bit, and I can take big gulps of air. They hurt my ribs, but I need air. I hear a terrified scream and I notice that it's probably mine.

Someone is holding me, but I feel the arms lessen their grip. I clasp my hand on his shirt. I don't want to let go. I'm scared.

_end Ryoma's pov----_

_Eiji's pov----_

'_Why is he screaming?'_

I didn't mean it! I didn't know I couldn't do it! When I tried to let go, Ryoma grabbed my shirt; I think he doesn't want me to.

'_What do I do?'_

Kaidoh went for the doctor. I hope he doesn't take long.

I see Dr. Shibahime enter through the door along with two nurses. Kaidoh comes in behind them, looking quite scared. I try to pry Ryoma's hand from my shirt for them to do their job.

"Don't let go! It's helping him, believe me."

I hold him tighter. He's still screaming, but knowing that I'm helping him makes me feel stronger. I look around me and notice that the rest of the guys have backed away; the doctor and the nurses are surrounding us. It makes me feel lonely. It's as if it's only Ochibi and me. I feel as though our friends are far away. I unconsciously tighten my grip.

I notice that one of the nurses have taken hold of Ochibi's hand. She takes out a huge syringe without a needle and hooks it to a little tube that has been hanging from his hand attached by a piece of tape. She begins injecting him and Ochibi lets out a sob. It looked painful. I couldn't tear my eyes away, even when I could feel that they were burning.

When she finished, she went out of the room, while the other was writing something on a small board that hung from the wall.

Ochibi's screams were starting to die and only his sobs remained. He seemed to wince every time he took in air. My arms had started to loosen a bit, but he didn't seem to notice.

Dr. Shibahime directed me a painful smile. I couldn't respond.

"That was normal for a person who has suffered an accident of this type. He just went into shock. Normally he would have suffered it right after the accident, but as he fell into a coma, he had it now."

"What do you mean?" I hear Tezuka ask in a tight voice. I had never heard him so shaken.

"Ryoma-kun…you see, he remembered the accident."

I could feel my whole body shake and I jumped when someone put a hand on my shoulder. It was Oishi. My eyes met his and I wondered if I looked as bad as he did, as everyone did. I probably looked worse.

I lowered my gaze again and noticed that Ochibi's eyes were closing.

"I…I…why?…can't…feel…"

He closed his eyes and let his weight fall on me. I lowered him slowly onto his pillows and waited until the doctor took off his mask. He didn't need it anymore. Then I took his uninjured hand between mine.

"I'm here Ochibi."

_end Eiji's pov----_

* * *

It had only been two hours since eight shaken boys had left room 478 of the pediatric ward. The halls were empty and there was an apparent calm inside the hospital.

Inside said room, Ryoma lay sleeping, still under the effect of the sedative he had been given. His parents were sitting next to him, watching him.

Moments later, Ryoma opened his eyes. He gazed at his surroundings calmly, a little dizzy, but not in panic anymore.

"Ryoma! Thank God!" his mother cried while she took hold of his hand and smoothed his hair in a loving way.

However, Ryoma didn't notice her. He began to wake up completely and, in doing so, he became aware of his injuries. His heart raced with unknown fear and his breathing became faster.

"...Ryoma..."

"Nanjiroh! Push the nurse button!"

He concentrated, he tried, but… _'…Why…?'_

"Honey, look into my eyes!" his mother tried to call his attention, but she failed.

"Baby, calm down! Please!"

'_...Why...?'_

"Nanjiroh do something!"

He began to sweat from the effort and he clenched his fist in the sheets. His eyes began to shimmer and he looked at his mother.

"Mom...why?"

She looked at him with so many emotions rushing through her body, through her eyes...

"Mom...I'm trying, but I can't move them!"

His father turned his head away from him and covered his mouth.

"Mom...I can't feel my legs..."

* * *

See you the next time!

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